"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
What am I supposed to do with this time
It tears so many holes, I stay afloat but I'm
Feel out of control, so petrified
I'm petrified
What am I supposed to do to get by
Did I lose everything I need to survive
'Cause its 4 a.m. and the sweat sets in
Did you get my message, did it send
Or did you just get on with your life, oh
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling when I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
What am I supposed to do with these clothes
It's my twisted way of keep you close
I'm a nervous wreck, I'm a broken man
Did you get my message, did it send
Or do you get along on your own, oh
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling when I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
And it breaks me down when I see your face
You look so different but you feel the same
And I do not understand, I cannot comprehend
The chills your body sends, why did it have to end
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling that I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
And I have this feeling that I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
Runaway, runaway
Turn around and runaway, runaway
Runaway, runaway
But I can't tell you if you runaway, runaway
Turn around and runaway
It tears so many holes, I stay afloat but I'm
Feel out of control, so petrified
I'm petrified
What am I supposed to do to get by
Did I lose everything I need to survive
'Cause its 4 a.m. and the sweat sets in
Did you get my message, did it send
Or did you just get on with your life, oh
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling when I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
What am I supposed to do with these clothes
It's my twisted way of keep you close
I'm a nervous wreck, I'm a broken man
Did you get my message, did it send
Or do you get along on your own, oh
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling when I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
And it breaks me down when I see your face
You look so different but you feel the same
And I do not understand, I cannot comprehend
The chills your body sends, why did it have to end
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
I have this feeling that I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
I've taken time to think and I
Don't think it's fair for us to
Turn around and say goodbye
And I have this feeling that I
Finally found the words to say
But I can't tell you
If you turn around and run away, run away
Runaway, runaway
Turn around and runaway, runaway
Runaway, runaway
But I can't tell you if you runaway, runaway
Turn around and runaway
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think his love leaves him for an uncertain reason, he is desperately trying to buy her attention in any means necessary and so he says "I don't think it's fair for us to turn around and say goodbye" and she ignores him, so his life is torn between her and staying afloat